Access to VLOPs/VLOSEs data

Research not requiring approval

Researchers studying systemic risks in the EU on the basis of public data données publiques (art. 40 §12 of the DSA) may request access to data directly from VLOPs/VLOSEs. They do not need prior approval.

Research subject to approval

Researchers studying systemic risks in the EU based on non-public data (art. 40 §4 to 11 of the DSA) must obtain approval from a national digital services coordinator before requesting access to data held by VLOPs/VLOSEs.

VLOP/VLOVE

VLOPs/VLOSEs must clearly indicate on their website the contact details of their point of contact for data access, the catalogue of available data and its structure, and the terms and conditions of access.

VLOPs/VLOSEs must open up access to their internal data to researchers in accordance with the scope of the vetted status granted by the digital services coordinators.

Competition Authority

The Competition Authority, as the national digital services coordinator, processes applications for vetted status for access to data from VLOPs/VLOSEs established in Luxembourg.

It may also receive applications for approval from research institutions established in Luxembourg, and forward them to the digital services coordinator responsible for the VLOPs/VLOSEs concerned.

Direct access to public data

To obtain access to public data directly from a VLOP/VLOSE, the applicant must:

• be independent from any commercial interests;
• indicate the source of funding for the research;
• comply with data security and confidentiality requirements and describe the measures taken to this end;
• demonstrate that access to the data and the time limits are necessary and proportionate to the research objectives;
• and that the expected results will contribute to the understanding of systemic risk and the assessment of risk mitigation measures in the EU.

Approval for access to internal data

To obtain the status of vetted researcher for access to internal data from a VLOP/VLOSE, applicants must:

• be affiliated with a research organisation;
• be independent from any commercial interests;
• indicate the source of funding for the research;
• comply with data security and confidentiality requirements and describe the measures taken to this end;
• demonstrate that access to the data and the time limits are necessary and proportionate to the research objectives;
• and that the expected results will contribute to the understanding of systemic risk and the assessment of risk mitigation measures in the EU.
• commit to making its research results available to the public free of charge within a reasonable time after the end of the research.

Data protection

Applications for access to data must, in any event, comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and any other applicable legislation relating to personal data.

The applicant must therefore carry out a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) whenever the processing of data ‘is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons’.

Researchers wishing to obtain approval to access internal VLOP/VLOSE data must submit a reasoned request:

• either to the national digital services coordinator of the Member State in which their research organisation is based;
• or to the national digital services coordinator in the Member State in which the VLOP/VLOSE being researched is based.

With the entry into force of the delegated act on data access, researchers can now submit their applications for data access via the DSA Data Access Portal set up by the European Commission.

This portal allows researchers to :

• create a user account,
• apply for data access approval, and
• communicate with digital services coordinators.

It enables complete and reliable transfer of applications to the relevant national coordinators.